Corpsman Read Online Free PDF Page A

moment, the smile he was obviously trying to suppress forcing its way out.
    “Miss Neves, have you ever considered being a navigator?” he asked, the smile making a full appearance.
    “A navigator?  Like on a ship?” she asked.
    Despite wanting to join the Navy, Liege wasn’t really up too much on what the Navy actually did.  But she’d seen enough flicks and holos to know that the navigators were the bald freaks with the contraption bolted to the backs of their skulls and who controlled the ships in bubble space.  In the flicks, they tended to be portrayed as aloof and rather weird.
    “Of course on a ship.  They’re the most important people on the ship.  Without them, the ship goes nowhere.  If you become a navigator, you’ll be promoted to E5 right out of Level Three School, and you’ll be in line for warrant officer.”
    He continued on telling her what a great deal it would be for her when she started making sense out of what he was saying.
    “So I did OK on the testing?” she interrupted.
    “OK?” he asked, pausing to take a breath.  “Yes, Miss Neves, you can say that.  You did OK.  Now, that’s only the preliminary testing, but based on that, if you want, we can start the Navigation Test Protocol.  Of course, it looks like all NPSs—uh, that is Naval Positional Specialties—would be open to you.  Navigation, propulsion, corpsman, whatever you want, but if you ask me, navigation is where it’s at.”
    This was going too fast for her.  Did she want to become a freak?  For all she knew, once you had the nav thingy put in your skull, it was permanent.
    The uniform was going on again about extra pay, the prestige, the ability to quickly gain rank, and the huge salaries that could be commanded from the civilian side after getting out of the Navy.  That last one caught her attention.  Liege was poor, dirt poor.  She didn’t feel there was any honor in being poor, and with money, she could give Avó the best care available. 
    And looking at the uniform—Petty Officer Russell, she reminded herself, not “uniform”—she realized that the petty officer no longer saw her as a gangrat.  He saw beyond the colors, the hair, the wild expression of her life to date.  He saw her as a commodity, one that the Navy wanted.  She appreciated that.  It felt good to know that beyond the NE38559453, beyond Leticia and Avó, the “real world” wanted her for something, too.
    She held up her hand, palm out, and stopped him mid-sentence. 
    “If you think I should do that, sir, then I will.  I’m ready to serve the best I can.”

 
     
    DUGGEN
     
    Chapter 2
     
    Hospitalman Recruit Liege Neves rushed down the corridor to Classroom 105.  She was late, just having gotten off the commercial comms with Leticia.  An E1’s salary was more than she’d ever legally earned before, but it was not enough for more than short once-every-two-week calls back home.  Those calls were important, though, enough so that she risked being late today, of all days, so as not to miss her call slot.
    She’d have more money if she’d qualified for navigator training, of course.  She’d passed all the written and verbal tests, but failed the physical.  Two of her readings had come in below the required minimums to undergo the transformation.  She still didn’t know if she was sad about that or not.  She’d have liked the increased rank and money, to be sure, but at least now, she was still Liege and not some half-cyborg creature.
    With navigator out the window, she’d had all the other NPSs open to her, and she’d chosen to become a corpsman.  It was one of the largest NPSs in the Navy, and the chances to specialize were pretty broad.  Many of the sub-specialties were in high demand in the civilian side of the Federation, and she’d be able to bring Leticia and Avó with her wherever and whenever she went.  All she had to do was keep her nose clean and do a good job in her first duty station, and